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Journal the_mad_poster's Journal: A Poll: Should I Be Unethical, or Outright Criminal? 35

Journal by the_mad_poster

Long story short, I bought an SD card at Circuit City and it has a $10 rebate, but I destroyed that fucking plastic case it came in with a homicidal rage because, frankly, those goddamn things could be used in Iraq on the bottom of hummers to protect from IEDs they're so goddamn hard to get through.

Anyway, this means the UPC is gone, so no rebate. I will take one of two courses of action:

A) Just walk into Circuit City with a pair of scissors and cut the UPC out of another one right in the store.

B) Lie about the SD card not working, get a new one, and use the UPC from that one.

I'd take a camera in for documentation if (A) wins, but it's not my camera, and I'm afraid they'd confiscate it if (when?) they catch me. The only thing that bothers me about (A) is that it will almost certainly cause a confrontation between me and some poor schmuck who's making seven bucks an hour and really doesn't want to even be there. I don't give a shit about the store, I'd be just as happy if Circuit City, Fry's, Best Buy et. al. burned down and their entire boards died of simultaneous heart attacks. I feel bad for the poor suckers on the floor though because they get abused by the customers when the customers get abused by the company even though they really have no say in the matter.

Also, I'm watching "Live" and it looks like that blonde chick wants to reach over and rip out Regis's lungs. That would be cool.

This discussion was created by the_mad_poster (640772) for no Foes, but now has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

A Poll: Should I Be Unethical, or Outright Criminal? More

A Poll: Should I Be Unethical, or Outright Criminal?

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  • No.

    Just send the whole destroyed packaging (which will include some torn fragments of the UPC code, I imagine), along with a covering letter explaining what you did. This way, they can see you bought the product, that the UPC code cannot be sent in separately for a second rebate claim, and you should bet your rebate AND have a clear conscience.

    If it'll make you feel any better, it will cost them more to process your rebate claim than an ordinary one. Heck, maybe you should send in the entire packaging e

  • Sounds like a lot of work for ten bucks. By the time the hoops have been jumped through, I'd guess you've expended way more than $10 worth of gas and time.

    I have this very entertaining picture of you destroying the original package. It sort of resembles the WB Tasmanian devil - a big whirl of arms and legs, with bits of plastic flying out and a lot of guttural sounds...

    *grin*

    Pix

    • Well, the nice thing is that I have a reason to be in the area anyway, so it's no extra gas, and I'm off all week so I have nothing better to do with my time than fuck the corporate structure anyway.

      I reeeealy hate mail-in rebates.
  • I say choice B. If it is at all possible, try to put the disc on some monster magnet before return, in case they try to check it.

    'A' is vandalism, a crime. 'B' might be a crime, but the bigger issue is that you would be an asshole. Well, fuck Circuit City and the supplier, one of whom could just eat the $10 on the front end instead of fucking around with all of this 'rebate' shit.

    For added fun, I'd do a little 'stink palm' with the disc. Trust me, if the disc smells like shit, they won't want to test it.

    • Hell, why even go through the hassle of rebates and crap. If you're gonna break laws anyway, just walk into the store and steal something worth 10 bucks.

      If you bring a gun, you can probably get several hundered from the register. No harm done, afterall, CC can afford it.

      How very progressive.

      • Hell, why even go through the hassle of rebates and crap. If you're gonna break laws anyway, just walk into the store and steal something worth 10 bucks.

        What law is that? I said maybe. You seem to have more certainty that choice 'B' would breaking a law.

        • I'm pretty sure lying to make a return doesn't break any laws. Unethical? Depends. Illegal? Highly unlikely. I guess if you REALLY stretched the definition of fraud it could be made out to be illegal, but since you wouldn't normally be profiting in the end, that would be one hell of a stretch.
        • What law is that? I said maybe. You seem to have more certainty that choice 'B' would breaking a law.

          I never said it did break any laws. I just don't see how it's worth the hassle. So if you're gonna take a shortcut anyway...it's not like ethics or legality seems to be much of an issue in the discussion.

          Why not make it worth your while you know?

      • lol

        I like your idea best.

        You know, I'm sure there are going to be folks who think I'm doing a bad thing here, but I really don't care. I just can't get myself to feel bad for screwing them over when the entire point of the mail-in rebate concept is to advertise things at one price and then try to trick customers into paying full price anyway.

        My take on it is that this is really no different than robbing a robber, and I can't say as I'd feel bad about taking money away from a mugger unless I knew who to give

        • You're right, damn them for forcing you to buy their goods! It's exactly the same as stealing money from a robber. Well, except for the robber robbing someone that is.

          You're a regular Robin Hood.

          Isn't that just precious.

          But you go girl, fight the system! Don't let the man keep you down.

          • Your heavy reliance on smarmy remarks suggests to me that you're unable to come up with any material grievance against my actions.

            The problem, as I see it, is that you seem to be assuming I came into this transaction with the intent of being some moral crusader. To the contrary, I came into this transaction simply intending to purchase a simple piece of electornic equipment at its advertised price. For no actual reason, I have been left incapable of doing this. I could simply take the feeble-minded pro-busi

            • Calm down, calm down, no one's going to try to stop you from getting the $10 the world owes you.

              For no actual reason, I have been left incapable of doing this.

              Wait, I thought the reason that you're incapable of getting the $10 was that you couldn't get the box open, threw a hissyfit out and tore the UPC code? Then without thinking about what you could do to mend the situation, you pouted and threw it away.

              Oh wait, I mean the eeeeeevil box of capitalist oppression built on the backs of the struggling prol

              • You know, your pro-big-business protectionist bullshit might have actually meant something to me before Best Buy tried to screw me out of a $250 rebate by telling me the receipt they printed me in the store was "the wrong one". Before Verizon started charging me an extra $3 a month on my local-only phone bill because they arbitrarily added long distance calling minutes whether I wanted them or not. Before Adelphia cut off my cable because they weren't taking my payments. Before Bank of America ran an update

                • Business is good for nothing. .. Capitalism has done nothing for me as a consumer...

                  How can you say that? They gave you the elite righteous experience of destroying something in "a homicidal rage" (your words, not mine). They let you feel the exalted sensation of "an act of triumphant disdain." When I want to perform an act of triumphant disdain, I usually have to hold a twenty dollar bill over a lighter. "Burn, Andrew Jackson, burn!! Burn like old hickory, you anti-anullist!" But this business, li

                • I really don't give a shit what you think about it.

                  I'm not stopping you from doing what you're gonna do, you're responsible for your own actions and you don't have to explain your choices to me.

                  But how very interesting, that you still take the time to justify your actions to random people on the internet.

                  Could it be, that you're a big boy and know what's right and wrong and which one you should choose but you're seeking some kind of justification for choosing the other?

                  So this make-believe one man crus

                  • But how very interesting, that you still take the time to justify your actions to random people on the internet.

                    You're not random. If you'll notice, I rarely explain myself to random ACs in my open journals, choosing instead to mock them or simply post general nonsense. You and I have spoken numerous times in this and other stories, so I have no problem discussing the matter with you.

                    It has to do with choosing what's right.

                    But that's where you're not paying attention. I don't CARE what's right. What good do

                    • Again, you try to lessen the consequences of your actions. Who's going to notice? Who's going to know? No one important will get hurt. And even if they did, I don't care!

                      And yet, here you are, trying so hard to get approval for your actions. If you really didn't care, like I said, you would just have stolen the $10. You made this JE to get some form of approval for your actions. While George might cheer you on and tell you to stick it to The Man. I won't. I guess it might make me a dumb prick, but I can li

                    • trying so hard to get approval for your actions

                      Er. No. Either way, I'm going to do one of the two above, very likely the second. You seem to think I'm generally operating in a normal state of mind for a human being. You'd be sadly mistaken. If it had been voted that I go in and cut the UPC out, I'd have done it, even if it meant I got arrested and jailed.

                      I'm not a fucking hero here out to bring peace and sanity and goodwill to all. I just want what's mine and I don't respect this nonsensical legalistic bull

                    • It's completely black and white, you trying to paint it gray doesn't make it so.

                      All I'm saying is, you know it's wrong, and yet you try to somehow justify it.

                      You're right, it's a hopeless labyrinth to be able to handle a scissor and cut out a UPC label. It's a daunting task to copy it and place it in an envelope with a stamp. The nigh impossible feat of mailing said envelope should not be undertaken lightly!

                      I mean, it's not like they made all these steps obvious when they advertised the SD card price aft

                    • No, I know a lot of people, likely the majority, would consider it unethical to trade in known-good product as damaged in order to get a rebate. Hence the title.

                      I don't care in the least. I just want my money. So if you choose to paint me as unethical, so be it. Like I said, I'm not a hero, and I don't care to be one.

                    • Again, because others do it it must be OK, right?

                      You keep saying you don't care, and you're right, I don't believe it. You're trying too hard to justify your actions while downplaying the consequences.

                    • While George might cheer you on and tell you to stick it to The Man.

                      Fuckin' A. I live vicariously through others.

                      I won't. I guess it might make me a dumb prick, but I can live with that.

                      Whereas if I'm shopping, I price compare the price that I will pay. If I jump through the hoops, I look at rebates as a lagniappe.
            • well, I knew the terms ahead of time and now I'm fucked

              except, you DID know the terms. So what's wrong with making you be responsible for YOUR actions, while we try to pay attention and NOT buy 'rebate' stuff so as to hold them accountable for THEIR actions?

              The robbing a robber argument doesn't hold water, either, because as soon as you do this, you qualify in the category of those whose stuff can reasonably be taken away. Thus demolishing any shred of legitimacy your argument was based on.
              • Because, frankly, we're at the point now where I'm sick of getting dicked over by companies. Not just this, but Best Buy which really DID try to rip me off by arguing that the reciept THEY gave me for my $250 rebate was "the wrong one". In fact, on that rip-off I DID lose $100 in the end because I wasn't able to cash another rebate thanks to their dishonesty. That was the first and last thing I ever bought from them though. Won't even look at their ads now and take every chance I get to berate them.

                Really,

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